You may be wondering what a subway con- ductor is doing here. That’s Sujatha Gidla,
whose stunning family memoir, Ants Among
Elephants, touches on a lot of contemporary
hot topics—class, immigration, opportunity,
poverty, inequality—and was the first book our
editors picked for our top 10. Gidla was
born an untouchable in India, and her
family’s story has the sweep of the
best epic fiction. Oh, and in
addition to researching and
writing her amazing
book, she helps
hundreds of thousands of New
Yorkers get
to work
every
day. So,
being
book people who live
and work in New
York, we’ve got two
reasons to appreciate her.
We review thousands of books
each year, and in this issue we pick the
best of the best: 100 adult titles and 50
for children and teens. This year’s list is
especially strong, as you’re about to see.
Enjoy.
Photograph by
Matt Peyton
